In their original form, the documents are untitled, and they are not numbered or dated. In the list below, the title is used as appears in the first line of the DOC.
Part A- Primary Preparatory Works, the Chiha drafts
Part A includes 15 documents where the imprint of Chiha is certain and generally significant. They consist of manuscript texts, texts typed with annotations in Michel Chiha (‘MC’)’s handwriting, texts typed with annotations not in Chiha’s handwriting, and texts printed with or without annotations. All are in French, except DOCs 14 and 15, which are respectively the Arabic printed constitutional project at its latest stage before distribution to the Council of Representatives for plenary discussion, and the Constitution as adopted.
These are the most important and informative documents. I have divided them here into three sets.
The first set includes successive versions based on Chiha’s first manuscript (DOCs 1 to 4).
In the second set (DOC 5 to 10), the versions are typed and corrected by him. They include annotations by him, annotations by Henry de Jouvenel (DOC 6), and annotations by others who remain unknown. The sequence is fairly evident on the basis of the type of draft (handwritten or typed), the changes in language and content, and the changes by Chiha and comments by others. Details can be found in my Democracy Redefined: Michel Chiha and the Lebanese Constitution (‘MCLC’), Edinburgh University Press 2025, Chapters 5 and 6.
The third set includes the versions that circulated in Beirut and Paris in the final discussion phase. DOCs 11 to 14 probably circulated between late April and mid-May 1926, just before the final debates of the Council of Representatives. DOC 15 includes the amendments introduced by the Council of Representatives and adopted as the Constitution on May 23 at the close of the Plenary debate (see MCLC, 99). DOC 15 is arguably the first published version of the Constitution.
First set, DOCs 1 to 4
- DOCs 1 to 4 consist of 85 articles, starting with the first manuscript version in Chiha’s handwriting. DOC 1 is then typed, and insertions and comments are added by hand to the subsequent versions. DOC 1- Titre 1er Dispositions fondamentales (manuscript in MC’s handwriting). 85 Arts, 15pp. The very first version, with torn Art. 86.
- DOC 2- Titre 1er Dispositions fondamentales (typed version of DOC 1, with annotations not in MC’s handwriting). 85 Arts, 25pp.
- DOC 3- Avant-Projet de Constitution pour le Gd-Liban (typed version of DOC 1, with annotations not in MC’s handwriting). 85 Arts, 27pp. Pages 8 and 17 are duplicated in DOC 3, otherwise the typed text and format are the same as DOC 2. This explains why DOC 3 has 27 pages, whereas DOC 2 has only 25 pages.
- DOC 4- Constitution du Grand-Liban (typed version of DOC 1, with annotations in MC’s handwriting). 85 Arts, 25pp.
Second set, DOCs 5 to 10
DOCs 5 to 8 include 96 Articles, which provide a full text for the domestic part of the Constitution. These four documents will be consolidated in DOC 11 with an additional section relative to the subordination of Lebanon to the French Mandate. This set offers some insight on changes affecting DOCs 1 to 4. Starting with DOC 5, it includes various annotations and amendments by MC, de Jouvenel and others whose handwriting is unknown. Main changes from the first set (DOCs 1 to 4) to this second set: Art.5 on the flag is added to previous versions and the rest of the articles are renumbered by hand. DOC 5 includes an additional handwritten half-page standing as page 7 with Arts. 27 and 28 inserted; Art.33 is added at p.8; Art.35 is added at p.9; Art.43 added at p.12; Arts. 52, 53, 54 added at p.14; Art.59 added at p.16; Art.65 added at p.17; Art. 89 added at p.24, Arts. 95 and 97 added at p. 25. DOC 5- Titre 1er Dispositions fondamentales (typed version of DOC 1, with annotations in MC’s handwriting). 96 Arts, 25 pp. DOC 5 is the first completed draft, with 96 Articles, as opposed to 85 Articles in DOCs 1 to 4. DOC 6- Titre 1er Dispositions fondamentales (typed version of DOC 5, with annotations in both MC’s and de Jouvenel’s handwriting). 96 Arts, 14 pp. DOC 7- Titre 1er Dispositions fondamentales (typed version of DOC 5, with two sets of annotations by unknown commentators). 96 Arts, 14 pp. DOC 8- Titre 1er Dispositions fondamentales (typed version of DOC 5, with annotations in MC’s handwriting). 96 Arts, 14 pp. DOC 9 [‘Souchier Observations’]- Observations sur le projet de Constitution (typed), with marginal comments by MC, 6 pp. Document 9 consists of six pages of unsigned comments on DOC 8. This can be verified for instance in the comments on Arts. 23 and 24 of DOC 8. This set of observations was almost certainly written by Paul Souchier. Souchier’s comments appear in the margin of Arts. 12, 17, 19, 22, 23, 24, 27, 29, 43, 50, 55, 56, 58, 61, 72, 74, 75, 76, 77, 84, 86, 87, 88, 91, 92, 93 and 94. A few comments only are taken into account and integrated into DOC 11. DOC 10- Le Président de la République [Duguit Document]; ‘Une constitution viable en dehors du Mandat’. Manuscript in in MC’s handwriting - 2 pages recto verso. Document 10 is the only indication of the role of French constitutionalist Léon Duguit in the constitutional drafting. (See MCLC, 136-40).
Third set, DOCs 11 to 15- final versions
The third set consists of documents which are close to each another and appear as the late versions which circulate in Paris and Beirut before submission to the plenary discussion in the Council of Representatives on 19 May. DOCs 11 to 13 were probably circulated in late April to mid-May 1926, just before the final debates in the Council of Representatives. DOC 11- Titre 1er Disposition fondamentales (typed, no annotations). 106 Arts., 16 pp. This is a clean typed version of DOC 8, which consolidates all previous versions and includes in a different typeset the French Mandate part, which consists of ten articles added after Art. 96. The document represents the latest available iteration of the ‘Chiha Constitution’. It was, by-and-large, adopted as the Constitution. DOC 12- CONSTITUTION LIBANAISE – AVANT-PROJET (printed booklet, no annotations, n.d.). 108 Arts., 10 pp. DOC 13- CONSTITUTION LIBANAISE – AVANT-PROJET (same version as DOC 11, with annotations in MC’s handwriting). 108 Arts., 10 pp. DOC 14- AR- Al-bab al-awwal [First part] (Printed Arabic translation of DOC 11, n.d., with annotations in Arabic). 107 Arts + addendum (dhayl) Art.43, 10 pp. DOC 15- AR al-dustur al-lubnani (Lebanese Constitution) Beirut: Matba‘at al-adab (printed booklet, n.d.). 102 Arts + errata page, 20 pp. DOC 15 includes the changes introduced by the Council of Representatives and adopted as the Lebanese Constitution on 23 May.
Part B- Secondary preparatory works
The documents in this part are less important preparatory works, but they provide material worth investigating further for the options concerning executive power and the presidency. They consist of incomplete notes, studies and partial drafts either by Chiha or considered by him, and full constitutional drafts sent to him for inspiration by other authors.
In this Part B, the Menassa drafts (DOC 21) and the ‘Chiha/Trad’ drafts (DOCs 23 and 24) are particularly interesting for additional research. For an easier orientation of the reader, I have arranged this Part B in six sets.
First set- Contemporaneous constitutions
DOC 16- File entitled CONSTITUTIONS DIVERSES (all printed) This is an important set in the Chiha Constitutional Papers. The frontpage lists the texts of the constitutions of ‘Lettonie, Lithuanie, La Société des Nations et les Mandats, le Régime Constitutionnel de l’Etat égyptien, Finlande, Roumanie, le Traité Anglo-Irakien signé à Bagdad, Le Mandat de la France pour la Syrie et le Liban.’ The listed constitutions and relevant treaties are printed documents found inside the file. They all date from the early 1920s and helped Chiha in his drafting. Of note is the absence of the French and Belgian constitutions. These constitutions, none of which are still in force, are available by a simple search on the Internet, and are therefore not included in the present book.
Second set- File covers
DOCs 17 and 18 consist of a few words written by Chiha on a cover page for a file. Because of reshuffles of the documents carried out over time, it is not possible to ascertain which documents were included in these files. They are of minor importance. DOC 17- Conseil Représentatif Projets en cours (handwritten by MC, one page). This is a file cover with no content other than the title. I include it here because it appears to refer to texts by members of the Council of Representatives and/or documents collected by or for them. The missing file might have contained some or all the documents under the third set below.’ DOC 18- Dernier Texte dernières notes (‘Last text__ last notes’, handwritten by MC, one page). This is also a simple file cover. The missing document(s) inside would have been the latest version which Chiha worked on.
Third set- Partial drafts probably prepared by or with Chiha
DOC 19- Ch.IV Du Pouvoir Exécutif (handwritten by MC) 25 Arts., 6pp (Arts.50 to 75) DOC 19 starts with the line ‘Ch.IV Du Pouvoir Exécutif’. It consists of five pages, from Art. 50 to Art. 73. There are no Arts. 1 to 50, and a page seems missing after page 1 (the last article is Art. 50 bis, and the next page starts with Art. 59). It is handwritten by Chiha and is heavily corrected. The document reads like a preliminary study for DOC 1. If the missing articles surface, DOC 19 would probably constitute manuscript zero. In its present state, the most telling part consists of four lines at the end of page 4, which lists topics that Chiha jots down for later development (Revision of the Constitution, Special Provisions for Parliament Sitting in Congress, On judicial power, High Court of Justice, On finance, Transitional Provisions). DOC 20- PROJET DE CONSTITUTION LIBANAISE (typed, also on executive power). 19 Arts, 3 pp. DOC 21- PROJET DE CONSTITUTION LIBANAISE, (typed, also on executive power). 29 Arts, 4 pp. DOC 20 starts with ‘Projet de Constitution Libanaise, Titre Premier, Pouvoir Exécutif’, and includes 19 articles over three pages. DOC 21 bears the same title, but it is typed on a different machine and includes 29 articles. These two documents read like rough drafts or studies for the section on executive power in DOC 1.
Fourth set- The Menassa letter and constitutional draft
DOC 22- Monsieur le Député (typed) + AVANT-PROJET DE CONSTITUTION LIBANAISE attached (typed). 110 Arts., 10 pp. DOC 22 is a letter from Gabriel Menassa to MC, signed and dated Paris 28.12.[19]25. It consists of one page, with a full constitutional draft attached. The letter and the draft probably reached MC before he wrote DOC 1 (On Menassa and Chiha, see MCLC 127-30).
Fifth set- The ‘Chiha/Trad Drafts’
DOC 23- CONSTITUTION DE L’ETAT DU GRAND-LIBAN (typed with annotations not in MC’s handwriting). 110 Arts, 19 pp. DOC 24- Constitution de l’Etat du Grand-Liban (typed, no annotations), 110 Arts 18 pp. DOCS 23 and 24 are difficult to integrate in the drafts’ sequence. I argue in MCLC that they fit best before DOC 5. For the sake of clarity, I separated them from Part A which is exclusively Chiha’s. In the hypothesis suggested in MCLC, they might be a combination of drafts by Chiha (DOCs 1 to 4) and a draft by Petro Trad (lawyer and member of the Council of Representatives in 1926, who is mentioned in various sources along with Chiha as ‘author’ of the Constitution). The argument, which is discussed in MCLC, remains speculative.
Sixth set- Another constitutional draft, author unknown
DOC 25- Titre 1er Disposition générales (typed, with typed edits), 54 Arts., 21 pp. This document consists of 54 articles, including two at the end on Lebanon’s international relations and its position vis-à-vis France and the Société des Nations (SDN). A few articles at the beginning are the closest to the first articles in the early Chiha versions, but the remainder is not. There is no indication as to who wrote the document and where it stands chronologically. I surmise that it was completed around the time DOCs 1 to 4 were elaborated. In an alternative reading to the Trad contribution in DOCs 23 and 24, the singularity of the draft in DOC 25, and the fact that it is typed with a large margin to the right, leaving room for comments, suggest that it was written by a Francophile member of the Council of Representatives (See MCLC 97).
Part C- Miscellaneous
This part includes four documents in Arabic, with limited relevance to the elaboration of the Constitution. DOCs 26 and 27 are constitutional drafts by jurist politicians (Ayyub Tabet, Sami al-Solh) who sent them to MC, too late however to provide any significant input to the drafting process. Tabet (1884-1947) was a prominent figure during the Mandate Period and was briefly president just before Independence. Solh (ca 1990-1968) was a jurist and Beirut politician who became president of the Council of Ministers several times from 1942 to his death.
DOC 26- AR Dr Ayyub Tabet, Mashru‘ al-nazam al-asasi li-dawlat lubnan (project of a basic law for the State of Lebanon), Beirut: Matba‘at al-misbah 1926 (printed booklet). 74 Arts, 17 pp. It is a printed booklet in Arabic with a dedication by Dr Ayyub Tabet to MC dated 25 March 1926. DOC 27- AR Projet de Sami Bey El Solh (handwritten words in French not by MC, under heading Al-jumhuriyya al-lubnaniyya (Lebanese Republic official heading), (typed) 1Art, 4 pp. It was presented to MC by ‘Anis Saleh, Directeur Général de la Justice’ on an attached business card. Anis Saleh (d.1973) was then the top administrative official in the Ministry of Justice. DOC 28- AR mashru‘ qanun (Draft [electoral] law) (typed with annotations by MC on top of page 1) (n.d.). 61 Arts, 11 pp. DOC 28 includes a reference in Art. 61 to ‘the abrogation of Decision 2 of 2 January 1924’. It constitutes a draft electoral law of relevance to the 1925 Electoral law, but not to the Constitution of 1926. DOC 29- AR ‘[bayn] yadayy al-majlis’ (‘in the hands of the council’). Typed, 4 pp. DOC 29 mentions the Constitution of 1926, so it was written after its adoption. The document refers to constitutional amendments enacted in 1927. It is therefore not relevant to the elaboration of the initial text. There is no title in the document and ‘in the hands of the council’ are the first words in the text, which starts at page two. Page one is missing. The text reads like a translated list of suggested amendments, by Chiha or possibly by the French authorities.